I'm not arguing that things wouldn't change if Amazon's HQ2 is located in Raleigh in part due to the influx of new residents. But I have to ask - how many of the folks who are against HQ2 here moved here from someplace else? Do those people realize that they, too, are part of the "problem". I know I am.

Shortly after I moved here I read a letter to the editor in the News&Observer. The letter derided the downward slope the Raleigh area was on, with all the new residents taking away from the quality of living.... it had been so much nicer when the letter writer MOVED TO RALEIGH 12 YEARS PRIOR. The man was oblivious to what he was writing.

When I moved here almost 21 years ago, this was a very, very nice place. Now, it is a very, very nice place. Different - and very, very nice. It is my place of choice.

I've taken advantage of the self-pour wall at Clouds in Raleigh. It can be an interesting experience, and if you are trying to taste 4-6 beers it can be very useful as you pour just enough of each to take a good taste.

However, at my favorite beer places the interactions with the bartenders are part of the fun going there. Self-pour may work out very well for some (and be cost effective for the bar), but others will still want that interaction. After all, the last time I asked a wall - regardless of how many taps it had on it - "what do you think I'd like?", the wall just stood there silent as always.

Oh, and another issue with self-pour... Some beers are easier to pour than others. Bartenders tend to know how each one comes out of the tap, and treat it appropriately. If there is a hard-to-pour beer on self-tap, the poor beer customer could get frustrated (or all foam, or both). Plus, bartenders tend to be quicker. For example - Clouds had their Bourbon County Stout event a while back, and the BCS was on their self-pour wall. Let me tell you - waiting for 20, 30, 40 rookies to pour a beer in front of you is no fun (and my apologies to those who were behind this rookie).

I dropped my subscription to the N&O after they wrote a love letter to Art Pope because the guy who is worth close to a billion dollars gave $4 million to charity...while ignoring he had given TEN TIMES that amount to pervert democracy in NC.

I did like the editorial and research journalism strength McClatchy brought to the N&O, but apparently that has faltered over the past few years. At least we still have Indy Week.

I dropped my long-time subscription to the N&O after a columnist wrote a love letter to Art Pope because he had contributed $400k over the previous 10 years to various charities. The love letter failed to reference the bastardization of the democratic process Pope and the ilk in his organization had accomplished by giving over 10x that amount to (successfully) skew elections.

Per USAToday:
"Hey everybody, I'm fine," he said in a video posted on his Twitter account. "Just running about two and a half miles and got overheated."

He said there was no CPR or special measures administered on him, contrary to some reports.

"See you back on the Hill," he said.

C'mon, Thom... I am relieved that a sitting Senator did not just keel over permanently, but I think it would be best for the state and country if you resigned for, ummm, health reasons... yeah, health reasons.